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Published: September 2nd 2011
Sepilok
Feeding Platform Hello Folks, so sorry for the long delay between blogs, finding time to write it and upload the pictures etc has been difficult. But never mind, I’m here, you’re here, so let’s get started!
Malaysia then..........If I could sum it up in one sentence I’d say “very bad planning on my part” I didn’t research as well as I could have and the 9 nights we spent in Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, were the only night’s accommodation we’d paid for in advance, leaving us hardly any flexibility, once we realised what a huge mistake I’d made. Our plan for our time in Malaysia was to top up our tan on the beach and have a relaxing last few days and spend one day at the Orang-utan Sanctuary, and One Day exploring Kuala Lumpur.
Two major faults with that plan, first of all, there was no beach in Kota Kinabalu, and second of all it was hundreds of miles (a 45 minute flight in fact) away from the Sepilok Orang-utan Sanctuary. Now that is pretty bad planning, you have to admit, but before you judge me too harshly, let me fill you in on how I researched it.
If you
Sepilok
Feeding Platform look at Kota Kinabalu on tripadvisor.com, you see at number 2 or 3 on the list of “things to do in Kota Kinabalu” is the Sepilok Orang-utan Sanctuary. Now this would lead even the most efficient researcher to believe, that in fact, the aforementioned sanctuary is located in Kota Kinabalu. Researching Kota Kinabalu itself, I came upon the official Sabah tourism website which describes KK as a “seaside town”..........again you’d expect a beach wouldn’t you?
Friends had described Malaysia as the cheapest place they had been in Asia, we found it to be the most expensive place we went to, and you would really have to go some to beat 25c beers in Cambodia. Being at the end of our trip and therefore the end of our budget, and having already thrown away $350 on flights to Singapore that we never took, and having to pay for 2 extra return flights to Sandakan, the actual location of the Orang-utan sanctuary, we didn’t feel we could justify throwing away the accommodation we’d booked and starting over. With hindsight, we wish we’d gone to Penang or Langkawi instead, but there you go we made the best of it. A few other things
Sepilok
Feeding Platform happened in Malaysia which added to my (probably unjustified) ever growing annoyance with the place. Verlie got sick for a couple of days, we’d both had bad head colds way back in Bali, but otherwise we’d been well right through the trip, the first two days we spent in Malaysia were spent holed up in our hotel room. Watching shit movies on HBO.
I lost my favourite “Animal” sunglasses, I’ve still got my “Arsenal 2 Spurs 3” Oakley’s (purchased with $400 winnings on a bet I had and to permanently remind me of a stunning victory) but the Animal ones were my favourite and most comfortable, and I left them in a restaurant somewhere.
We couldn’t find a decent restaurant if our lives depended on it in KK, we tried the number one eatery on tripadvisor, and it was very good, however we were bothered by hawkers, noisy Aussies at the next table and (as we were seated outside on the Quayside or “Seaside” as they call in Sabah) the rancid smell of rotten rubbish assaulting our nostrils periodically, it was like dining out at Tilbury tip.
My Laptop lead finally gave out and I went to buy a
Sepilok
Up Close and Personal new one, I took my old one along to the shop, the assistant looked at it, pulled one out of a drawer and said that was the one I needed, I asked him if he was sure, and he nodded enthusiastically, 50 Ringhett. ($17) got it back and it was the wrong one, looked at the receipt and it big bold letters “NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES FOR INCORRECTLY SELECTED GOODS” Awesome, by now we’d both well and truly had enough and wanted to go home!
Being stared and pointed at by Asians had started off as funny, went on to being a novelty, then slightly annoying, by the time I’d got to Malaysia, it had become downright insulting. One evening we were walking to a restaurant when out of the blue, “Wow you are a very a big man” I ignored it, “maybe you need bodyguard” That was it, I’d had enough, I fixed him with an angry stare. “DO I LOOK LIKE I NEED A F*%KING BODYGAURD?”...........He didn’t answer. I know it’s just a conversation starter, and they don’t understand that pointing out someone’s hugeness in the west is an insult. But by the final days of the trip,
Sepilok
Probably one of the best photo's Verlie has ever taken, in my humble opinion! and with everything else that had gone on, I’d right had enough of it.
At least the hotel we were in was nice. It was the number one place to stay in KK on tripadvisor certainly not the most expensive, but very nice all the same. Most hotels in KK were at $100 plus for the cheapest rooms, how they can justify this in such a tip as KK I’ll never know, however we paid just $40 per night and it was really nice, very small, but very clean, with flat screen TV and Satellite, Wi-Fi everything you need. Location wise it was 2 doors down from an excellent supermarket/bakery but if you wanted a restaurant it was a minimum 10 min walk, which doesn’t sound much, but it was way too hot for walking.
Malaysia was saved by what was to be one of the highlights of our trip. Reading reviews of the Orang-utan Sanctuary, a couple of people had mentioned that you were not assured of seeing any. This was a bit worrying to say the least. However we were not to be disappointed. We took our flight to Sandakan and a taxi out to the Sanctuary, arriving
about an hour before the feeding time at the platform. The sanctuary is located in the rainforest and the Orang-utans are free to come and go as they please, the ones that are not so confident and able to fend for themselves will return each day to the feeding platform. About 50 metres from there is the viewing platform, where we lined up with about 60 or 70 other visitors. Luckily for us, we had not hung around and had a really good spot right at the front, up against the hand rail. The feeding started and a few Orang-utans came out, a couple with small babies on their backs. We were thrilled and I took some great video, and Verlie took some awesome photos. Then out of the blue I saw the bushes just in front of me move about, instinctively I moved my camera in that direction, and there right in front of us, literally within touching distance (he did actually touch Verlie’s hand) a big male Orang-utan climbed up the hand rail in front of us, and just sat for a moment, taking in the scene. It was a thrilling moment, and we couldn’t believe how lucky
we were. He hung around for 5 or 10 exciting minutes and when he eventually left we did too, thrilled at such an up close experience.
We made our way back to the visitors centre, we’d mis-timed the ordering of our taxi back to the airport and we had an hour to kill. We went into the cafe and had a bit of lunch and went outside and sat under a shelter next to the visitors centre and watched the rain come hammering down. By now the other visitors had left, we talked about how lucky we’d been that morning, I asked Verlie if she thought the Orang-utans ever came out here, as there was technically no fence to stop them, we decided that they probably wouldn’t as they were wary of humans and there was no food or anything for them there. Our taxi was late and we just sat there, when all of the sudden Verlie turned around and went “OH MY GOD” I looked in the direction she was facing and there he was, the same male Orang-utan, was just sat there on the handrail outside the visitors centre, in the pouring rain. It was a magical,
special moment and for about 10 minutes we sat there with him, just us three. He didn’t seem overly fussed, and eventually he just lay down on the rail. We’d been told earlier that he was big enough to rip a human in half, so we were very respectful and kept a safe distance.
After a while a gaggle of Japanese tourists appeared brandishing 25 foot long lenses and he headed off in the direction of the ticket office, walked inside and walked out again. By now one of the staff at the centre had seen him and gently ushered him back into the rainforest. Our taxi came and we left for the airport, stunned and utterly elated. Lost sunglasses and charger cables, long forgotten. The above encounter is featured in the video I made which you can view on youtube by clicking this link
Video Highlights of our Asia trip The very last 24 hours of our epic 2 month journey were spent in Kuala Lumpur; the hotel was nice, very up-scale. Right in the centre of the city. We visited the huge tower they have there, and also the famous twin towers, with the walkway between them. At the bottom of the
Kota Kinabalu
"Seaside" Sunset towers is a shopping mall and we came upon a Marks and Spencer, secretly I think this was Verlie’s highlight of the trip, we spent about $40 on Percy pigs, cookies, cordial and other treats, mindful of our baggage allowance. We reflected back on the trip over dinner that night, (I played gastronomic Russian roulette by eating a massive curry the night before a long haul flight) Bali back in May had seemed a VERY VERY long time ago. We’d been lucky enough to have the trip of a life-time. We’d played with tiger cubs, had a water fight with an Elephant, met an Orang-utan, we’d eaten some amazing food, met some awesome people, seen about a million temples, and once or twice, been asked if we wanted a Tuk Tuk. We’d had a nice mixture of relaxing beaches and city hustle and bustle. But now we were heading home to Perth, eager to start the rest of our lives, although worryingly without a job between us! At this point I have to mention our great mate James, a totally awesome dude, who I missed off my list of thank you’s in the last but 1 blog. He’s an amazing
Kuala Lumpur
Twin Towers Reflected dude, with a superb attitude to life, thanks for all your help and hints and tips mate, invaluable!
Epilogue: our new lives
We landed back in Perth on a Monday morning, I’d lined up several job interviews and by Thursday I had a job, starting the following Monday. It wasn’t the Fly in Fly out mine site job I was looking for, it was in a Perth based workshop, refurbishing gearboxes from mine sites, but it would do for now. Verlie also found a job within a couple of weeks, She now works as a PA to a company director in Perth CBD, the closest thing to her job with Countrywide with a lot less stress. She loves her job as her boss gives her wine if she works late.
We both had help from very good friends, with regard to references. Verlie’s manager at Countrywide, Sarah, has been more than helpful, we can’t thank her enough and look forward to toasting her and her husband to be at their wedding back in the UK over Easter next year. I won’t name the person who helped me most, but he’s been awesome and I literally could not have done anything without him, including getting the visa. I never thought someone so much younger than me could teach me so much, even now, he still makes me want to be a better person, and I don’t even work for him anymore! I have no doubt he will go on to be an inspirational leader in years to come. Thanks again mate.
I stayed in my Perth based workshop job for 6 or 7 weeks, purchased a complete new tool kit at $2000, and that’s just the basics. I hated the job, radios are banned in the workshop, no drinks allowed in the workshop. Lunch is taken on a stack of pallets out the back because the lunch room isn’t big enough. Bell rings: start work, Bell rings: tea break, Bell Rings: back to work....and so on. Literally bell to bell, how do you like that Nigel?
A couple of weeks ago, I got a new job, it’s the Fly in Fly out mine site job I’d dreamed of ever since I’d wanted to come to Australia. The work for now at least is pretty easy, I fly out Tuesday mornings at 6am, and the flight is 1 hour 40 minutes. I start work as soon as I arrive. I stay at the mine site village and work 8 days in a row starting at 6am and finishing at 6pm. I have a private room, like a mini chalet, with en-suite bathroom, 48” plasma TV, Foxtel (Sky) with sports channels and free internet. There is a dining room, which serves a selection of meals for dinner, usually a curry of some sort, carvery, and a pasta dish, if none of that takes your fancy, they will grill you a steak or barramundi fish to order. Breakfast is a choice of full fry up, pancakes, cereal, toast, muffins, juice etc etc. While having brekkie, you pack your lunch from a selection of; make your own rolls, wraps and sandwiches, cold meat, pasta salad, quiche, fresh fruit, cookies and cakes. Accommodation, flights, and meals are all free of course. I then fly home on the following Tuesday at 4pm. Have a week off, and then repeat the whole process the following week. It’s by far the best job I’ve ever had and I couldn’t be happier.
I’ve been waiting for the right time to mention that sadly, this will be our last ever blog entry. It’s a travel blog, and all we are doing now is just living our lives day to day, and no-one is really interested in that. It’s been a massive 2 or 3 years for us, things have finally fallen into place, the planets have aligned and pretty much everything has gone right for us since we came to Australia, fortune favours the brave, Audere Est Facere. We couldn’t have done it without the love and support of our friends and family, especially Verlie's brother Gary and her Dad, who have helped us no end with our house back in UK. We love and miss you all. We’ll be back in the UK for 10 days or so around Easter next year, we hope to see you at some point.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read our blogs, we hope you’ve enjoyed reading them as much as we have enjoyed writing them.
Stay awesome everyone.............
Love
Mark & Verlie
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Lucy Wise
non-member comment
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
An end to the blogs!!! this is my 'have a cup of tea and chill' time reading your bloggs!! will miss them!!! miss you both!! Roll on easter! xxxxx